


Two of a Kind

by JaneTheNya



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Ren and Futaba are adoptive siblings and u cannot stop me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27069544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneTheNya/pseuds/JaneTheNya
Summary: Ren and Futaba go get a late-night snack.
Kudos: 27





	Two of a Kind

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of a number of mini-fic oneshots I wrote over the summer while my P5 special interest was in full swing, and I figured I would post them here. I don't think these are up to the quality of my usual writing but they're hopefully enough to make you smile.

A knock-knock came at the door. Awhile back, that would’ve scared Futaba, but she and her brother had developed a routine, and now that sound of knocking at the door excited her more than it scared her.

She paused the game she was playing, gently setting the console down on her desk and rocking gently back and forth as she took a few deep breaths. No need to rush, she told herself, he was patient.

After a moment, she flipped one leg out from its crossed position under her on the chair, a single foot slowly reaching for the carpet on the floor, getting steady, and lifting herself up, dancing and hopping a bit over to the door in that strange stimulating way of walking she had.

She pried the door open slowly, seeing the shy smiling face of her older brother greeting her.

“Hey Taba,” came his quiet voice. “What are you up to at this hour?”

She paused for a moment, noticing the darkness of the house around him, then leaned back to check her computer monitor, adjusting her glasses. 3:34am, the clock said.

“Oh, whoops… whoops whoops,” she whispered to herself.

The boy shook his head, smiling weakly as he reached up to hold a lock of hair between his fingers. “No, no, it’s okay. Actually I was… feeling pretty restless, and uh… kinda unsafe. I figured you might be up, so I wanted to see you.”

There was silence as Futaba processed that statement, and then her face lit up. “Oh! Yeah! Yeah, yeah!” She danced in place a bit, hopping back and forth between her feet. After a moment, she turned to the side to welcome him in.

He walked slowly in, standing in the middle of her room and taking a look around. “So what have you been up to tonight?” he asked with a chuckle.

Futaba danced back over to her desk, grabbing the mug decorated with a rainbow-patterned cat and taking a long sip of the lukewarm coffee remaining. “Got distracted by Mario,” she explained, settling back into her chair and spinning around to grab her console again. “Tryin to… beat this one again.”

Ren nodded patiently, taking a few steps toward her bed and motioning for her approval. After a few seconds, it clicked in her mind. “Oh, oh. Sorry sorry. Go ahead.”

“No apologies,” he said as he took a seat on top of her covers.

“Do you wannaaaa talk about your bad dreams?” she asked, not looking up from the game. Beneath her, her legs began kicking absently while she played.

Ren nodded, swallowing nervously. “I guess I was just… thinking about home. I had a dream where I was with my mom and dad, and…”

“Ex-dad,” Futaba interjected. “You have a new dad now, a cool one who’s good at making coffee. Even if he is kinda lame.”

Ren smiled and laughed a bit. “You’re right, yeah. I guess dreams are just dreams, I’m plenty happy to be here instead… still.” He sighed. “I guess it still hurts thinking about how… I dunno, how quickly they gave me up.”

Futaba looked up over her console at her sibling. His expression was strained, hurting. He appeared on the verge of tears, hands gripping her sheets. She paused the game, setting the console down on her desk, and made her way over to the bed, taking his hand in hers, her free hand absently tapping on her leg.

“You’re valuable to me. I’d never give you up,” she said in a soft voice. “They’re dumb. And I hate them.” She looked up at him. “Uh, sorry if that’s too harsh. I know they’re like… y’know.” She tilted her head to the side.

He laughed a bit. “No, that’s fair. I think I might hate them too. I’m not sure yet.”

For a bit, there was silence, aside from the sound of the computer monitor and Futaba’s hand slapping against her leg. Ren finally broke the silence again.

“Hey, uh… do you wanna go with me to that 24-hour store? I kinda want a milkshake.”

Her face lit up. “Hell yeah, now you’re talkin’!” She stood up and spun in a small circle. “Let me get my jacket!”

* * *

“I never get why people say vanilla is boring,” Futaba rambled, perhaps a bit too loud. The store was near empty at that hour though, so it was probably fine. Ren didn’t want to interrupt her, anyhow. “You know who says vanilla is boring? Fuckin’ dopes and losers.”

She set the cup on the counter and placed the lid on it, beaming from ear to ear, her head rocking back and forth excitedly. “Hehehe…” she couldn’t help but giggle when she was getting something she was really excited about, and Ren always found it charming.

He pulled his own milkshake- chocolate- out of the machine and began setting the lid on it. “So is this gonna be one of our secret outings we don’t tell Sojiro about?” he asked.

“Weeelllll, if he doesn’t ask, how can we be sure he doesn’t know?” his sister replied with a smirk, spinning in place as she grabbed her cup back up, her free hand buried part of the way up her jacket sleeve, the loose arm flapping excitedly.

“Alright, let’s go pay.” Ren led the way, Futaba following a short distance behind him, as she preferred to do. She always walked at the back of the group, just a little distance between them, enough to feel safe.

He approached the counter, setting both cups in front of the exhausted looking cashier. He felt a bit bad, knowing Futaba’s gleeful antics and lack of volume control may have disrupted her quiet shift a bit. “Sorry to come in so late,” he said with a sympathetic smile, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He knew the feeling.

The woman shook her head as she scanned the barcode on each of their cups. “No worries.”

She gave the total, and Ren reached into his wallet, as a terrifying realization struck him. It hadn’t crossed his mind at all, how dumb could he have been, what was he supposed to do now? He didn’t have enough, he had completely forgotten, and now what was he going to do? What was wrong with him, what was WRONG with him?

Suddenly, his sister pushed in front of him.

“Hey, uh, sorry sorry. Here’s money. The money? For um, milk… shake.” She set some paper bills down on the counter, pointedly avoiding eye contact with the cashier. “Sorry sorry,” she mumbled again as she slicked back behind Ren.

He mouthed a quiet “thank you” to her as he took the receipt.

* * *

“So, how did you get money?” Ren asked curiously, before taking a sip as the pair walked back together.

“Sojiro started paying me an allowance for working at the shop with him!” She answered gleefully, one arm holding her milkshake and the other flapping excitedly.

“I see. Well, I’m glad you covered me there. Like, really glad.” He took another sip.

“Of cooourse, bro. I got ya!” She picked up speed a bit, jogging until she was at his side and leaning in to mumble to him. “And uh, honestly honestly… you’re always doin’ stuffs for me, and it feels really good to pay ya back a bit.”

He smiled at her warmly, attempting as much as possible to express his gratitude in the gesture. “You don’t have to owe me anything. You’re my sister, and you’re awesome. Honestly, every time I help you out, I’m just paying you back for being awesome.”

Futaba grinned at that, holding up the empty cuff of her sleeve to cover up her nose and mouth as she giggled. “I see! Guess I’m even cooler than I thought!” She fished in her jacket pocket to take the console back out.

“Careful, careful,” Ren reminded her. “Be sure to pay attention to walking.”

“But Marioooo…” she protested, sliding the console back.

“Mario is patient, he’ll be waiting for you back at the room,” Ren explained with a smile. After a small silence, he spoke up again, voice breaking a bit as he talked. “Y’know… I can’t even remember that dream now.”

“Good!” Futaba grinned as she jogged out in front of Ren, spinning around and sticking her tongue out. “Fuck those guys! They don’t deserve your attention!”

Ren nodded, taking another quick sip of his milkshake. “You’re right. I’ve got my family, right here.” He offered his hand, and she took it, walking back to the Sakura house side-by-side, hand in hand. Brother and sister.

**Author's Note:**

> One last shoutout to my friend Vane (Daxiefraxie on here) who I originally wrote these mini-fics for! My writing of all the characters is largely inspired by her work, Deja Vu, so if you haven't read that yet, please go give it a read! It's wonderful.


End file.
